Louis Spohr was accepted during his lifetime as one of the most important composers of early German Romanticism. The Quintet No. 5 in G minor followed upon the tragic early death of Spohr’s daughter Therese at the age of 19. The initial movements are dark and sombre in mood, but by the end the atmosphere becomes more carefree. The Quintet No. 6 in E minor was composed in early 1845 and was one of a series of instrumental pieces he wrote following the composition of his last opera Die Kreuzfahrer. The Quintet at first displays a melancholy lyricism that looks back to much of Spohr’s earlier music. The slow movement is reflective, and the work closes with an agitated final movement.